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Rail-car orders and deliveries continued to mount in the second quarter. Orders totaling 19,770 rose 10 percent compared with the first quarter and 18.4 percent compared with second-quarter 2003, according to the American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI) of the Railway Supply Institute.

Orders were driven by increasing demand for covered hoppers, and flat, tank and box cars.

Quarterly car deliveries totaling 10,071 increased slightly compared with the first quarter's 10,012 deliveries, but 37 percent compared with second-quarter 2003's 7,365 deliveries.

The quarterly backlog — units ordered but not yet delivered — of 51,446 cars rose 21.8 percent and 54 percent, respectively, compared with figures from the first quarter and second-quarter 2003.

Despite escalating orders and deliveries, raw material and component shortages continue to affect car production, ARCI says.